Yay To 2009!

This is going to be an exciting year for my family. Not only do I get to meet my little girl in April, I'm also looking forward to a good pal's wedding in romantic Bali, to Chinese New Year in S.'s hometown and X'mas back home.

The arrival of Bubu (that's what S. and I call her since we first found out of the pregnancy) is making me all hyped up and anxious. A friend suggested I name her "Cookie" since I love baking cookies so much. Erm, really didn't know how to react to that.

I've been thinking "Kate" would be nice. Yup I think this would be it if there are no violent objections from S. Not that he has many opinions about baby names (which frustrates me!)

My activities in cyberspace have diverted to avid reading of pregnancy-related articles and baby stuff shopping. That's why I've become such a bummer with blogging and confectionery making lately. As a redemption (if you came here to read about chocolate,) may I offer you an interesting article I just read online. This article about chocolate "sweetening" pregnancies could bring some cheer to you if you are expecting and craving for dark chocolate big time! Well, moderation is always the key! Please do speak to your ob or gynae regarding your caffeine intake to be on the safe side!!!

Yay to more chocolate and to 2009!

Onion Flowers

These elegant onion flowers are sitting in my living room now, and I can't resist taking a photo or two to capture their beauty. They last well too, I've gotten them 3 days ago and they look just as fresh as they were on day 1.

Very happy to find a florist near my place. It's run by a cheery chatty old gentleman. Somehow in Hong Kong, people manage well with small spaces. He runs his shop in a meter-wide lane between 2 buildings. It's feels like treasure hunting during flower shopping. ^__^

Coffee Truffles - Tribute to Cee

Unveiling... *drumroll*

*Tada!!!*

I have to thank Cee for the start of my home chocolate making venture. It's been months since I left off. After moving to a new city and bad bouts of morning sickness the past few months, I'm finally ready to hit the kitchen again.


She brought me 3kg of Manjari all the way from Singapore! I've never worked with this dark chocolate from Valrhona before, and it's a going to be lots of experimentation with this new flavor. Manjari has a very light and refreshing taste with sourish notes.


The first batch of chocolates from this bagful is coffee truffles. Cee has something for her coffee, be it a wake-me-up in the morning, caffeine-high in the office at 2 pm, or an after-dinner dessert. Just pure addiction for her. I think she would have love them if she could try some. Till we meet again in January, I can only dedicate these truffles to her for now!

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For this batch, I used:

- 350g of Manjari
- 250 ml of heavy/whipping cream
- 40g of butter (cubed)
- 40g of sugar
- 4g of instant coffee

1) Half melt the chocolate in a double boiler. (Some work with unmelted chocolate pieces. I use buttons too, but I find that many times, I cannot emulsify properly and get lumps or a grainy texture when I work with unmelted chocolate. Some chefs work with melted chocolate. I wonder what works for you?)
2) Heat cream in a saucepan over medium heat, add sugar and coffee. Stir till sugar and coffee granules are melted, and cream comes to a boil.
3) Pour cream over chocolate.
4) Stir mixture slowly. (A chocolate chef once told me to stir from in to out, meaning you work the chocolate from the center of the bowl and then outwards, in small and widening circular motions.
5) Add butter cubes slowly, a few cubes at a time.
6) Continue to stir till mixture is well emulsified.
7) Pour into a 8" square tray.
8) Let mixture cool till room temperature before putting the tray into the refrigerator. (Please be sure to wrap with plastic wrap, as chocolate takes on odors very easily.)
9) Leave overnight (or enough time to ensure a hard ganache to be cut into pieces.)
10) Cut into desired dimensions.
11) Coat or dust with cocoa powder.
12) Keep refrigerated! These truffles are not coated with tempered chocolate and do not keep well w/o refrigeration!

Thoughts:

- I like it a lot, but would have liked it more if it were to be more milky. The acidity and aromatic "roastiness" of coffee complemented with the sourish, refreshing notes of Manjari but it left too strong an aftertaste for me. But it's just me. It's just like how some people would add milk to their coffee, and some would never have anything else but black.

Sorry for the MIA!

Been busy, been lazy, had not been baking, had not been making chocolates, had not been myself! And it's for months. I've recently moved to a new city, and yes, besides being homesick and sick of unpacking, I haven't figured out where to get ingredients from! Cranky, grouchy and simply out of sorts. Did they tell you baking could be therapeutic?

I guess, when I can't stand it any longer, I would be doing Betty Crocker's brownies to get started. Speaking of which, I even messed up a BC brownie years ago when I just started baking. I accidentally switched my oven to grill mode and set the top of the brownie on fire! I jumped up and down on the kitchen floor, took the brownie tray out, and quickly slammed shut the oven door. Really didn't want to panic the smoke detector (Mom) and be banned from the kitchen forever. Haha...

Will still be missing in action for a while. Hope to be forgiven by Spatula, Whisk, Oven & Mixer. Hope to be back with a vengeance...

Chocolates seem to make me popular...

Haha... terrible blog title I know! Like all food bloggers or foodies would know, food unites. If there is something more I can add for chocolate, it's "Chocolate DELIGHTS".

It seems truffles have brought me some new friends, and have given me very good reasons to meet up with old ones. I enjoy packing things neatly, and adorning them with a simple ribbon; Nothing pleases me more when what's inside is edible. Sometimes I wonder if I have baked cookies and rolled truffles so I can package them and give away as presents? (and not really to eat them myself?) Nonetheless, the effects of my interests seem to have helped me break out of my sometimes-prolonged bouts of anti-social behavior, and I am happy I did. K. sent me a lovely test message telling how much the bag of truffles brighten her day. That text message brightens up mine too. :)



I met up with W. for coffee because he had long been a loyal guinea pig (well, I hope he no longer feels so...), and I wanted him to try this new recipe. Maybe W. (and E. and A.) didn't enjoy it, have not heard from him. It's okie! I think meeting up for coffee was the real deal.

Haha... silly post, I hope I'm the only one reading it! ^__^

Truffles Au Cocolat

Beautifully rich and austere, these truffles turned out lovely. I didn't quite know what to expect actually. Having made dozens of batches of truffles with cream, I found myself drawn to Alice's recipe (she has gotten the recipe from her landlady years back in 1973) in this book, which uses egg yolks and boiling water to emulsify with butter and chocolate. An "authentic and virually obsolete" recipe, I knew it was THE recipe to try (was my birthday actually, so I just had to try something different).

Pleasant pleasant surprise! The ganache turned out smooth and rich, definitely less creamy (but still as creamy? arrgghhh, I don't know how to describe that melting-on-the-tongue intense feeling). The best part was, the recipe didn't ask for a coating of tempered of chocolate! Woohoooo! Just the run-and-go kind of recipe I needed for that rushed afternoon in the kitchen. I came back 5 hours later to roll them out, half of them plain, and the other half with some Les Perles Croquantes (Valrhona chocolate pearls). I love some texture in the truffles but I find most nuts overpowering. These crunchies are a wonderful complement to the plain truffles. Not my first time making crunchy truffles actually!

As with all other batches, this is yet again too much for myself and S. to finish. I usually like to consume the truffles within 2 weeks, or it'll end up untouched beyond 14 days. I can't tell you how much chocolates ended up in the bin previously, and I feel horrible horrible throwing them away. (terribly wasteful, which eventually made me stop baking/chocolate making for a while). But now that I vowed to finish or give away everything I make or bake while they are still fresh before I start on another baking/chocolate projects, I have been conscientiously meeting up with friends and eating. Maybe I should vow to exercise too? (hahaa.... better not commit to something I have never really started doing...)



I made S. bring a whole tray full of truffles to his colleagues, I hope they enjoyed it! If not I'll be known as Miss Truffle-Shuffler-Into-Your-Face.

Some pictures from the process:

An Early Valentine

I know it's a month away, but I have baked these heart shaped cranberry white tea cookies months ago, and kept the photos in my hard disk for the longest time before they are allowed to unveil on a .com.



Cliche cookie cutter for Valentine's Day, but tried as I had, no other shape pleases more than a heart shaped one for this special day. I remember old school times when classmates gave out tiny bears, pink cards, heart shaped balloons to one another. Shy boys love to pick this sometimes not too auspicious day to confess their long kept secrets. Anonymous notes get passed around in lecture halls. Roses stuffed into bags. While I was never part of this romantic chain of melody in school days (blame the geeky specs and very bad haircut), my girlfriends and I have enjoyed hanging out on this day, often purposefully making sure we be out some where and not at home (now I wonder why?). Like Christmases, new Years and birthdays, February 14th brings happy memories of great company from old friends.


If you are baking for friends, family or a secret crush (hush hush), get a heart shaped cookie cutter. Shape them into a lucky clover (secret crush will find it more discreet).

I'll be baking for some friends, and will offer some for sale if I can manage. I do advise that you bake some yourself though, it really means a whole lot more! Enjoy ~~~

A sweet goodbye to 2007...

It was a loved one's birthday on 31st Dec, someone very special. Special people get special gifts (argh, always tough to go shopping with such a objective.) I can't think of anything else except for something handmade or a big fat bag of cash. Since I can't quite afford the latter, I decided on a handmade bouquet (no oven, no chocolate making tools, no penknife, no paper, no fabric, no sewing machine in this situation). It's got to be an auspicious colour (sort of decided on pink).

I can't decide if the posy turned out well; It looked quite fine to me, but certainly not roundish like the rest of the wedding posies I have seen. Maybe I should go for floral arrangement classes or work at a florist's. Always dreamt of having a floral shop with country style decor and whimsical looking furniture and huge glass door. (sorry I got distracted again...)

I guess this kind of wraps up 2007. A year for new things, discoveries of hidden passions, loads of hands on, random acts from compulsive behavior and most importantly, a time to dream. I don't know what 2008 would entail, but I'm certainly hoping there would be enough time to bake and craft. I am en route to making the best dark chocolate cookies ever (evil grin), and when that happens, oh yes when it happens... I'll be posting and raving about it! Wish me luck!

Cookies Cutters & Ribbons: Green Tea Cookies Part II

I've fallen again.

Fallen prey to these gleaming metallic, sturdy stainless steel cookie cutters with Japanese motifs.

Fallen in love with a roll of beautiful ribbon. It is printed on both sides!!!!!!!!! (Yes, it's almost impossible to find consumer-available, double-side printed ribbons these days!) Sorry to sound like such a creep, but I look out for details like these.

At the point of purchase, I haven't figured when I would have a chance to use this lovely piece (I wanted to use "precious" but the word took on a whole new meaning after watching Lord of the Rings). But having a weak spot for ribbons (and paper, fabric, stationery by and large), my approach is to buy when in doubt. Hee hee :)


Things started to piece up slowly: a sakura cookie cutter, green tea powder (leftover from the previous bake), a ribbon which seems a perfect match to package green tea cookies.


I got on to more baking again, and packaging, and eating.


Actually there is one overlooked point about packaging baked goodies in pretty, small sealed bags: It delays gratification! I absolutely love these cookies, but I can't bear to tear the little pyramids apart! The calories accumulate still, just more slowly... ^_^

Nostalgia with the Coming of X'mas - Green Tea Tree Cookies Part I

Had recently gotten some very likeable X'mas tree cookie cutters from Cuisipro . I almost ran out of ideas on how to make a green cookie without any colour additives (even contemplated grinding some fresh herbs and puree-ing avocado), green tea powder appeared on the supermarket shelf just in time to save me from some making some cookies which probably just looked green and just aren't too edible. Relief.



The fun part of making rolled cookies is really the cutting part. I subsequently bought more cutters, expressing no signs of restraint for my (over-)spending habit on baking supplies (gasp). I personally prefer metal cutters to plastic ones, but the great shapes and ascending sizes from Cuisipro's are irresistible (words from a baking-gear-fallen-prey).

Just some small tips on making rolled cookies:

1) Metal cutters tend to have a smoother "release" than most plastic ones, but take note to get good stiff stainless steel ones, it's frustrating to work with flimsy malleable cutters (imagine your round cookies turning oval-ish after some tough handling).

2) If your dough isn't sweet enough, dip them in granulated sugar before baking. They will bake beautifully. I did that for this batch of cookies, and the sugar coat adds a crunchy crust.

3) Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill till firm before rolling. Chill again if dough turns soft during handling. You can bake trays of chilled dough, just adjust baking time accordingly (usually 1-3 min more, depending on oven).


I can't believe X'mas is so near. It's often a love-hate relationship with X'mas. Whilst I enjoy the festiveness, shopping, spirit of giving, warmth, good company from old friends, I often can't bear to see the end of the year coming. I hope time could pass a little less quickly! There's so much more to do, so much to bake, so many more things on the 2007 to-do list that haven't been striked out yet!



The turquoise tea towel probably isn't too X'mas-y, but imagine a weekend morning, with tea in your favorite teacup, your little journal with the year's resolutions (and probably 2006's), and some cookies. Probably a good time to look back on things, in anticipation for the year's end. ^___^

To Christmas~~~~

Gooey Gooey...

It would be fun to called these blobby cookies little brownies, except it is fudgier, gooey-ier and probably walnutier. (pardon the blunt non-existent adjectives!). I can't think of a better description than the author's.



Adapted from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet Decadence Cookies, these little treats are "ultrachocolatey and richer than sin, slightly crunchy on the outside with a divinely soft center..." True to every word and more, this cookie delivers a lovely jolt of bittersweetness and an intense (not to mention instant) chocolate fix.

Nothing subtle, and definitely not for the cocoa-neutral, the batch of 700g dough comprises of 300g-400g (depending on cocoa content percentage) and only 35g of flour. Ahhhhh... if you are a nut-lover, you would be pleased to know that there is 200g of walnuts in the batter as well. So, really, it's actually chocolates and nuts baked with some eggs and a tiny dust of flour.

Exciting proportions, a good sunny Saturday afternoon, ample chocolate and some fresh nuts = these gooey treats.



Baking these was not hard (except loads of cleaning up because of such a wet batter), but photographing them was a total nightmare! I never really know how to make dark brown little things look pretty, and it's getting harder with each post (if you notice I made loads of truffles and different chocolate cookies). I have decided to jar them up, so there is a little gloss. It turns out to be a great packaging size. Yeahhhh, my little cookie business seems to be shaping up! (unrealistically optimistic.. haha...)

Crunchy Truffles

It turned out all delightful. It was partly because I was too lazy to infuse tea in my ganaches, so I looked through the kitchen stash, and decided to make some truffles with chocolate crunchies, a valuable buy from Shermay's.




It was a high cream to chocolate truffle. 500 ml of whipping cream to 300 g of Araguani! I always loved creamy yet dark, melt-in-the-mouth truffles, so I went to quite an extreme for the cream proportion. The ganache was surprisingly easy to roll, maybe because the morning was a chilly one.


All of it was shared with friends promptly and finished up in less than a week!


I was not working from my own kitchen, so I was a little short on some of my favorite tools and packaging materials. Nonetheless, I managed alright. No fancy pictures, no cookies with ribbons, no truffles in martini glass. Just a little hill of truffle balls, crying to be eaten, and rightfully deserving so.

Yum... I'm thinking of dark truffles of white chocolate balls now. It's true you can't stop once you start, be it the eating or the making.

Baking with Chunks - Part II

I got down to the real baking! For readers looking for recipes, I am afraid I can't offer you much (yes, you are free to click on another blog link), because I have recently decided to give a shot at setting up a cookie shop (had a sudden awakening). Most of the recipes I'll be trying out in the next few months would be those I'm keen to use for my shop. So, I'm going to evolve into a cookie-ninja and you'll find me posting pictures with vivid descriptions but elusive, evasive references (if at all) to the recipes. Yes, call me awful, selfish, annoying, but I had kept those precious recipes in my 10-over year-old notebook with a tingling thought during my teens that I could set up a bakery one day, and like the baker-owners all say, "Ah.. that's my secret recipe." You won't deprive of having a chance (no matter how slim) to say that one day yup? ^___^

While this blog have never really been targeted to garner a huge audience (Yup, I think and write like I would love to read, and it serves more as my own kitchen diary). Those who have been reading regularly (I'm very thankful) would know they can skip the first few paragraphs because I never get to the point quickly. Alright point taken, let's get to it!



I have been baking a chocolate cookie with different types of chocolate chunks. I had used Valrhona's Guanaja before, and now recently tried the same recipe with Araguani, thinking its floral notes and subtle bitterness would go well with some cookie sweetness. The cookie is still good, but Guanaja's slight citrus sourness had a better go with this ultra chocolatey treat. (Personal take of course!)



I tried a sister cookie (yes I treat white chocolate and strawberries as feminine objects). It's really hard to get dried strawberries (please let me know if you know!). I emptied these morsels from an entire box of Post's cereal, and they were weightless on an digital scale! They rarely filled half a cup.

There are some distributors carrying freezed dried fruit (which researchers have reported to retain high levels of nutrients), but we have to order by the kg.

These cookies turn out quite crisp on the outside, and some bigger choc chunks remain liquidy, giving slight chewy centre. Ever wondered why some cookies turn out crispy and thin, some thick and chewy? Ah... mystery mystery. I have a thing for permutations and possibilities. I variate the same core recipe with difference types of sugars, flours, fats, and alter the amounts slightly. I would also bake the same dough under different conditions (temp. and time). Of course, with experimentation comes loads of failures and some nice surprises. Please check out this great information site on chocolate chip cookie for the theory part of it! The practical side of things: You just have to get down to doing it. The same dough produces different textures from different handlings, different ovens (tricky, but it's the whole mystifying nature of baking that gives you the kick ne? ^_-)



The second best part of baking goodies is definitely packaging them! Eating them comes a close 3rd. Yes I am one of those weird ones who doesn't eat much of what I make, my taste buds are numbed from the long hours of baking (and test tasting). These are carefully packaged to be given out to friends to "test-run" for me.



And you absolutely have to eat cookies with chilled milk. The duo sends a lovely cold jot of crumbliness, crunch, melting-ful of sensation, milky goodness, loads to chew and starts a new day like it's going to be a real good day.